Just when you gave up all hope that Sony would release a netbook that costs less than $900, Sony today launched its attractive new line of netbooks--the VAIO W Series. Featuring cool colors, 10-inch screens with high-resolution, as well as a comfortable keyboard and touchpad, the VAIO W promises to make a splash for just $499.

Like all the netbooks that have come before it, the new W Series should prove to be a nice secondary PC for browsing the web from any room in your home or while you're relaxing at a coffee shop. The VAIO W will only be offered in one hardware configuration at the time of launch but comes in your choice of three colors— berry pink, sugar white and cocoa brown.

The W Series offers more screen real estate than most netbooks thanks to a high-resolution, 1366 x 768, LED backlit 10.1-inch widescreen display, making it easier to view one or even two web pages without the need for side-to-side scrolling.

The VAIO W also features an isolated keyboard which should prove easier to type on compared to many of the keyboards found on 10-inch netbooks. The VAIO W likewise has a larger touchpad and mouse keys compared to typical netbooks, so the touchpad will likely be easy to control.

As an added bonus, the VAIO W comes with VAIO Media plus Multimedia Streaming software, a media sharing application that lets you wirelessly stream content across DLNA-enabled devices throughout your home network. In other words, you can wirelessly send video, music and pictures from the VAIO W to your compatible primary PC or PLAYSTATION3 and vice-versa.

The list of standard features also includes two USB ports, built-in Bluetooth for connecting to wireless peripherals, a built-in webcam and microphone for video chats, and a standard 160GB hard drive for storing all your photos, files and videos. The VAIO W comes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition operating system, so this netbook should actually provide better performance than the more expensive Sony VAIO P running Windows Vista.

The VAIO W Series netbook will retail for about $500. It is available for pre-orders today online at the Sony Style website. It will also be sold at Sony Style stores and at other major retailers around the country starting in August.